STORY: Hezbollah, Israel clash in major escalation along border, risking regional spillover
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 25, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 26, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:56
LOCATION: Beirut/Cairo/Jerusalem
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. smoke resulting from Israeli shelling on the outskirts of the border town of Khiyam
2. STANDUP 1 (English): XIE HAO, Xinhua correspondent in Beirut, Lebanon
3. various of houses damaged by Israeli bombing
4. STANDUP 2 (English): YANG YIRAN, Xinhua correspondent in Cairo, Egypt
5. various of the meeting (source: Egyptian Presidency)
6. various of Cairo
7. various of Ben Gurion Airport
8. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BIO, Traveler
9. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SAPIR, Traveler
10. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SARIT, Israeli citizen
11. various of Tel Aviv

STORYLINE:

Israeli and Hezbollah forces engaged in extensive exchanges of fire early Sunday morning along the Israel-Lebanon border, marking a significant escalation in their longstanding conflict.

Hezbollah announced it had launched hundreds of missiles into Israel in retaliation for the killing of its commander, Fouad Shokor, in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last month. 

In response, Israel reported conducting numerous preemptive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah's rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

STANDUP 1 (English): XIE HAO, Xinhua correspondent in Beirut, Lebanon
"The NNA (Lebanese National News Agency) reported that a series of Israeli air strikes on Lebanon began in the early hours of Sunday, causing serious damage to property, crops, and infrastructure, especially electricity and water systems. It was the heaviest since the start of the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict late last year."

The intensification of hostilities raises the risk of a broader conflict involving regional and international actors and threatens to undermine ongoing ceasefire efforts in Gaza.

STANDUP 2 (English): YANG YIRAN, Xinhua correspondent in Cairo, Egypt
"Jordan on Sunday warned that the escalating situation in southern Lebanon could trigger a broader regional conflict.
On Sunday, Egyptian President (Abdel-Fattah) al-Sisi and Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Brown, discussed the rising tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. Sisi stressed the need for decisive international action to ease the crisis and reduce tensions." 

After Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a 48-hour nationwide emergency. 
   
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv experienced delays and flight redirections but reopened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT), according to the Israel Airports Authority. Airlines including Royal Jordanian, Turkish Airlines, and Air France have canceled flights to Beirut due to the escalating situation.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BIO, Traveler
"We tried to fly today, but we arrived and discovered that our flight is cancelled."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SAPIR, Traveler
"Actually, my flight wasn't delayed, but we are in stress all morning, because we don't know if the flight will depart. It's very hard because you live on uncertainty all time and we live like this, actually, for 10 months. I hope this situation will end soon."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SARIT, Israeli citizen
"Me as a citizen, I'm afraid. I live in the North. (It is) very, very uncomfortable to live here without knowing what will be next, what will be tomorrow. I'm not safe. You don't know what it's gonna be in an hour, in a day. Nobody knows the future."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut/Cairo/Jerusalem.
(XHTV)